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Regarding the inquiry about Qiao Qiao, Wang firmly insisted that when she went to the well to look for Qiao Qiao, the person was already gone, leaving only a bucket behind. She claimed that she glanced into the well and saw Qiao Qiao floating on the surface, which frightened her into shouting.
However, the villagers who rushed over upon hearing Wang's cries noted that she was standing far from the well's edge, and the well was quite deep. It was difficult to see clearly into the well from above. The villagers only discovered Qiao Qiao after they had drawn up a significant amount of water from the well. But since no one witnessed this life-threatening incident firsthand, they were hesitant to jump to conclusions.
Faced with Wang's evasive arguments, Chang Tai felt frustrated but did not show it on his face. He then inquired about his sister's situation, and Wang continued to insist that she had died of illness, though Chang Tai could sense some guilt in her demeanor.
Anyone who feels guilty likely has something to hide, so after returning to the city, Chang Tai sought out Xing Ruyi again.
"Did you find any scratch marks at the edge of the well?" Xing Ruyi asked while grinding herbs.
Chang Tai nodded. "Yes, if those were left by Qiao Qiao before she fell into the well. We can infer that she must have struggled before falling. But it's strange—if she struggled, why didn't she shout for help?"
"Because there wasn't enough time!"
"What do you mean?"
"If it was a slip and fall, then before falling, Qiao Qiao might have struggled as it's a natural instinct when faced with danger; it's a survival reflex. Just like you, Brother Chang—if someone were to tap you on the back unexpectedly, you'd instinctively reach for your sword; that's your reflex. But at the same time, your brain would assess the situation further. For instance, if the person tapping you is someone you know, their actions, scent, or even voice would immediately register in your brain. At that moment, you'd quickly relax your grip on your sword and respond in a friendly manner. However, if it were someone unfamiliar, your body would automatically react defensively—turning around or dodging while your sword would instinctively point at them. Am I right?"
"Although I'm not entirely familiar with your terms like 'reflex response,' I do indeed perform the actions you described."
"Exactly! If Qiao Qiao slipped into the well herself, given her height and the typical width of a well, her body would react instinctively before she fell. But what if she wasn't pushed in by herself but by someone familiar?"
"Pushed by someone familiar?"
"If it wasn't a slip and fall, then her body wouldn't react defensively ahead of time because she wouldn't sense any danger before the incident occurred. Similarly, if it was someone she knew who pushed her into the well, her body's response to danger would also be delayed. Let's hypothesize that Wang took advantage of Qiao Qiao drawing water at the edge of the well and pushed her in; then when Qiao Qiao fell into the well, although she might have reacted instinctively by trying to grab onto the edge of the well, she wouldn't have had time to shout for help. By the time her brain processed the command to call for help, she would have already fallen into the water. The well is deep; even if she shouted, no one would hear her."
"But this is all just our speculation. The Wang family is very clever and quite willful. Now that Qiao Qiao is dead and even the Corpse is missing, even if we know she is the prime suspect, we have no way to prove it."
"This doesn't sound like the Brother Chang I know!" Xing Ruyi shook her head. "Although Qiao Qiao's body is missing, it doesn't mean that Qiao Qiao is gone."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Brother Chang, have you ever heard of summoning souls?" Xing Ruyi paused her work, looked up at Chang Tai, and asked softly.
"Summoning souls!" Chang Tai felt a chill run down his spine and shook his head gently.
After what happened with Rouge, he had developed a certain level of acceptance towards supernatural matters. Hearing Xing Ruyi ask him this made him suspect something, so he followed up with a question: "Do you have a way to find Qiao Qiao's ghost and ask her about what happened that day?"
"This summoning of souls, also known as soul summoning technique in folk traditions, is practiced by many people in various places, but the methods differ. Some use mediums to invoke spirits, allowing the ghost to possess the medium and communicate through them to uncover the truth. Others can directly communicate with the ghost through spells," Xing Ruyi explained, blinking her eyes. "I can also summon souls, but my method is somewhat different from those two."
"In what way is it different?"
Xing Ruyi beckoned Chang Tai closer with her finger. Once he approached, she leaned in and whispered a few words into his ear. As she spoke, Chang Tai's expression grew increasingly strange until he suddenly looked up and asked, "Is that really possible?"
His sudden movement caught Xing Ruyi off guard, bringing their faces so close that Chang Tai's lips almost brushed against her delicate nose. His face flushed red as he quickly stepped back, his heart racing wildly. He didn't dare look at Xing Ruyi and muttered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
Xing Ruyi stuck out her tongue; only a man from the Golden Tang Dynasty would be so polite.
"Brother Chang, don't take it to heart. You were just startled by what I said earlier; you didn't mean to take advantage of me."
Hearing the phrase "take advantage," Chang Tai's face turned beet red. He waved his hands dismissively and saw Xing Ruyi's playful expression, realizing she was teasing him on purpose. He shook his head helplessly and refocused the conversation on the matter of Qiao Qiao falling into the well.
"Is what you just said really feasible?"
"Whether it works or not, we have to give it a try. If it succeeds, wouldn't that reveal the truth to everyone? If it doesn't work, we won't lose anything."
Chang Tai thought for a moment and felt that Xing Ruyi's words made sense. He then stood up to take his leave, saying, "I'll go handle it right now!"
"As for Qiao Qiao's matter, let Shengzi take care of it. He is used to doing these things and knows the ropes. As for you, Brother Chang, I think it's better to find an opportunity for the Coroner to examine Qiao Qiao's sister. Her name is also Sister, right? I can't shake the feeling that her sudden death without any apparent reason is quite suspicious."
"I also find it suspicious. A perfectly healthy person suddenly dies without any warning clearly defies logic," Chang Tai frowned. "But I heard that this sister had a Ghost Marriage with Deputy Minister of War Li Tai's son, Li Hu, and her body is not in the Wang Family."
"She's not in the Wang Family; she's in the charity cemetery of your capital's government office," Yin Yuan said as he walked in, munching on a large chicken leg.
Xing Ruyi took two big strides over and directly pinched Yin Yuan's ear. "When did you go out?"
"This morning when Father left, and Mother, you were still asleep!"
Recently, the fox had been taking Yin Yuan up the mountain to hunt. However, there weren't many evil Monsters and Spirits around. After catching those on several nearby hills, Yin Yuan began to experience hunger again. The fox didn't say anything but still cared for Yin Yuan in its heart. So whenever it had free time, it would search around for food. Xing Ruyi understood how hard the fox worked, so she rarely bothered it during this time. As for Yin Yuan, he was not an ordinary child; whether in Luoyang City or anywhere else, among gods, humans, demons, and spirits combined, there weren't many who could take advantage of him or threaten his life. Therefore, Xing Ruyi was generally at ease with him and allowed him to roam freely.
At this moment, seeing him suddenly come in from outside made her worry as a mother would naturally do. Although her way of expressing concern was quite similar to that of most ordinary mothers who fret over their children without any clever methods.
"Where have you been? What have you done?"
"I didn't go anywhere!" Yin Yuan pouted in grievance. "I just went out for a stroll this morning and heard that the son of the Deputy Minister of War was having a Ghost Marriage. The new Wife is resting at the charity cemetery of the government office in the capital, so I was curious and went to take a look."
"What were you looking at?"
"Look at that new Wife, is she pretty?" Yin Yuan said, taking a bite of chicken leg. "I heard that the son of the Deputy Minister of War is sickly, and the Vice Minister isn't good-looking either. If this new Wife is beautiful and marries him, wouldn't that be quite a pity?"
"Is that something you should be worrying about?" Xing Ruyi said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, poking Yin Yuan's forehead with her finger. "You're still so young; how do you know what is pretty and what isn't?"
"Of course I know!" Yin Yuan wrinkled his nose. "If she has even a third of your looks, then she's pretty. If not, then she's not."
"Alright!" Xing Ruyi squatted down and pinched Yin Yuan's chubby cheeks. "You're really good at flattering your mother. Fine, go play!"
Yin Yuan grinned mischievously, looking up at Xing Ruyi and asked, "Doesn't Mother want to know how the new Wife looks?"
"I don't want to know!" Seeing Yin Yuan's sly expression, Xing Ruyi knew he was plotting something. Since Chang Tai was still around, she couldn't just deal with him openly, so she chose to ignore him. But Yin Yuan clearly had other ideas; he stood on his tiptoes and waved the chicken leg in front of Xing Ruyi. "To be honest, although the new Wife isn't as good-looking as you, she's much younger than you. As they say, youth is an asset, and your asset is almost spent."
Xing Ruyi narrowed her eyes. "What did you say?"
"I've already gotten engaged before you even married Father. So when are you going to marry him? By the way, if Father keeps delaying, you might as well marry Constable Chang; I wouldn't mind calling him 'Father' too." Yin Yuan winked at Chang Tai and added, "Constable Chang, do your best! Yin Yuan supports you! Also, my father isn't here today!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a peanut accurately hit Yin Yuan on the forehead. Then a White Shadow swept by and landed next to Xing Ruyi, a relaxed yet authoritative voice coming from above her head.
"Who said I'm not here today?"
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